A landmark!

On November 17, 2012, or about then, 'The Settler' passed the 1,000 mark in sales. At this accelerating rate it should reach 2,000 by the end of 2012. Most of the sales have been through Kindle, where the novel is ranked high on searches for books set in Africa. I hope that this winter I'll be able to devote more time to marketing. Thanks to my readers for downloading the book - I hope you enjoyed it!

A new review on Amazon

This review appeared recently on Amazon.co.uk: "I started reading this book, thinking it was a completely fictional story. It was only as I was going through it, I began to recognise names of people, dates, places etc. It appears to be based on an actual family history, turned into a novel. It was completely gripping reading, whilst extending understanding of what life was actually like in the early settler days. Thoroughly recommended! I'll be looking for more books by the same author!" I'm most grateful to the reviewer, and glad he enjoyed the book!

Review in IndieReader

The following review appeared today in the Ezine 'IndieReader': Verdict: The Settler is an engaging and authentic work of historical fiction. It is also suspenseful up to the last page. Oxford graduate Martin Russell could land a job of his choice in London. But remaining in England is the last thing on his mind. Before he started university, Martin served with the British Army in India. His sense of adventure is piqued by that experience and later by a speech he hears at Oxford given by Cecil Rhodes: There is a land of imaginable space, of unfound riches, unexplored, waiting for men like you. Go there. See for yourselves. Martin pictures a peaceful life as a pioneer and farmer. Before he departs for Cape Town, a family friend asks him to accompany his nephew—a young American named Perry Davenport—to South Africa and then up to Rhodesia. Perry is to check out business opportunities for an uncle who runs gold mines. The two men embark not only on a monumental journey, but also on a life-long rivalry involving women and opposite sides of a war. Brian Duncan elegantly weaves the story of Martin and Perry against the backdrop of the Matabele War in 1983, the Mashonaland Rebellion in 1986, and the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902. Duncan scatters Afrikaans words throughout the story, and creates characters that are life-like and sympathetic, no matter their flaws. History buffs will enjoy how Duncan gives supporting appearances to historical figures such as Winston Churchill and Mohandas Gandhi, as well as the commanders of the Boer and British armies. Parts of the novel are graphic and disturbing, but that is to be expected with stories set during war. The Settler is an engaging and authentic work of historical fiction. It is also suspenseful up to the last page.

Sales are encouraging

On Sunday, when Kindle report sales, The Settler passed the 800 sales mark - 831 to be precise. This means that 1,000 is feasible by the end of the year. Thanks to my readers - I hope you enjoy the book!

Sales report: end of October 2012

Sales of The Settler on Kindle climbed again at the end of October. They now average 16 a day, combining both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. At this rate my target of 1,000 sales by the end of the year is feasible. Thank you readers - I hope you are enjoying the novel!

Steven Spielberg

The famous film maker Steven Spielberg is coming to Gettysburg (the town where I live) to give a speech at the 149th Anniversary of the dedication of the National Soldiers' Cemetery, where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. Spielberg has made a movie 'Lincoln', based on the book 'Team of Rivals' by the historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. I will try to go up the cemetery to listen to Spielberg's speech. I wish I could give him a copy of The Settler. If only is could be made into a movie he would be the ideal director!

Fellow authors

This week I had the pleasure of again meeting fellow authors Col. Dick Camp and his wife Suzanne Pool. Dick is a military historian and has written several books about the Marines, with whom he served in Vietnam. He has also written a novel 'Echo Among Warriors', which I can recommend - it has an interesting feature in presenting Vietnamese characters. Suzi wrote a book, with her brother James, entitled 'Who Financed Hitler: The Secret Funding of Hitler's Rise to Power, 1919-1933'. It's always good to chat to Dick and Suzi, both of whom are currently writing books. I wish them all the best!

The Settler sales are going well

For the last three weeks The Settler has sold 100 copies per week! I'm pleased, but would be ecstatic if there was another '0' on the end of the number. Ah well, I can dream, in the same way as I fantasise about a film producer choosing to make a 'major motion picture' from the book. It was not so long ago that I fantasised about having the novel on sale, so perhaps the movie will happen.

A new reader

Yesterday, by chance, I met a young American and his wife, both history graduates. He had written his disertation on the Boer War, so was interested in The Settler. I gave them a signed copy - hope they enjoy it!

The Settler reaches the 500 sales mark!

My historical novel 'The Settler' has now passed the 500 mark in sales! About 85% of these sales are on Kindle, and the remainder in the paperback version. The sales are about evenly divided between the US and the UK. My target is to reach sales of 1,000 by the end of the year, and 5,000 by the end of next year.

Review in Goodreads

'The Settler' has its first review in Goodreads, the widely subscribed website for bookreaders. You can find it at Goodreads

The Settler is climbing in the historical novel genre !

The Settler is now ranked #27 out of 1,170 in the genre 'Africa historical novels' in Amazon.com, based on 'average customer reviews. There's some stiff competition, particularly when you see that #1 is 'Killer Angels', a novel about the Battle of Gettysburg (the town where I live) - which has nothing to do with Africa!

On Amazon.co.uk The Settler is ranked #2 out of 111 novels in the same genre, again ranked by 'average customer reviews'.

These rankings may be factors boosting The Settler's sales, which are growing steadily, mainly on Kindle, where they are expected to reach one thousand by the end of the year.

'The Settler' in Amazon.com

Excerpts from reviews of 'The Settler', posted on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk:

"...a grand sweep through twelve years of history, with the bonus of interesting, well-developed characters."

"The four women are delightful, they are quite different in their personalities and very engaging."

"There's something in the book for men (the war background) and women (love themes for four interesting characters)."

"...splendidly crafted tale moves at a good pace holding one engrossed in its web of romantic intrigue."

"The book has everything you want in a historical novel - great character development, accurate history, romance, adventure."

"A wonderfully crafted story that keeps you hooked to read more! Brian you really captured the love scenes in a very tasteful way and your characters were very strong."

"The characters are well thought out and their relationships intriguingly complex."

"...a fast moving and very readable style which coupled with vivid descriptions of the time by an author who has a good understanding of the period..."

"They are genuine characters that one can believe in, and it was easy to get caught up in the dramas in the book."

You can see these reviews at Amazon